Man charged in sex case found dead

Updated 11:31 pm, Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Staff reports

A West Haven 911 dispatcher arrested in Vermont last week on charges he sexually abused a boy in Vermont during a 12-year period reportedly killed himself Tuesday.

Vermont State Police found the body of Frank Meyer, 39, in Newfane, Vt., at about 3:30 p.m. Meyer, who also was a volunteer fire captain, had been out on bail since his Feb. 27 arrest on charges of aggravated sexual assault and slave trafficking.

Troopers had arrested Meyer, of West Haven, and Brett Bartolotta, 42, of Cavendish, Vt., on the charges after the victim came forward last month, a state police news release said.

The two men are accused of sexually assaulting the boy beginning when he was 12 years old in 2001. The alleged victim reported that the abuse continued through 2012, and identified Meyer and Bartolotta as the two parties responsible.

Trooper Dan Trottier's investigation said Meyer and Bartolotta paid the victim and gave him gifts for sex, the release states. Each man was jailed in lieu of $50,000 bail following the arrests at the Vermont State Police barracks in Chester, Vt. Meyer was later released on bail.

On Monday, West Haven Mayor John Picard said Meyer had been placed on paid leave from his dispatcher position effective March 1 pending a hearing set for Friday.

Vermont state police said the scene of Meyer's death was consistent with suicide, though further details were not released pending an autopsy planned for Wednesday.